This invention relates to a container having inflatable walls for use as a car bed, crib, playpen and bassinet for a small child.
It has previously been proposed to form a crib or bassinet from plastics material having tubular formations which allow the walls of the crib or container to be inflated. This has a number of advantages in that the container can be collapsed for simple storage and transportation when not in use and, in addition, it forms a soft protective wall against which the small child or infant can fall without damage.
However, devices of this type have not been particularly successful in that they have had a number of disadvantages and design faults.
It is one object of the present invention, therefore, to provide an improved inflatable container of this type particularly which can be converted from a playpen to crib or bassinet and to a car bed which provides protection for the child in a car.
According to the invention, therefore, there is provided a container having inflatable walls for use as a car bed, crib, playpen and bassinet for a small child, the container comprising a rectangular base and four wall portions each attached to a respective edge of the base, releasable interconnecting means between adjacent edges of the wall portions, each wall portion having transverse fold means thereacross dividing a top section thereof from a bottom section adjacent the base whereby the top section can be folded down to lie alongside the bottom section and releasable interconnecting means between the top section and the base to hold said top section in said folded down position.
The interconnecting means at the edges of the walls can be provided preferably by zippers extending from the base to the top of the wall.
This has a number of advantages in that with the zippers joined part way along the wall, the top section of the wall can be folded over to lie at 180.degree. to the bottom section and then be connected to the base to form a double wall. This arrangement enables the container to be converted from a playpen with high walls to a crib or bassinet with the double walls and also to the car bed where two of the walls are normally upstanding but can be pulled over to enclose an open top of the container by the action of retractable belts holding the bed in place on a seat of the car.
Further important aspects of the invention relate to the positioning of a permanently attached air pump for inflating the walls, the pump being attached along one top edge of a wall portion so that when deflated it can be rolled into the flat blank forming the container for storage. In addition, pockets for ballast can be provided in the base to provide stability for the container when inflated.
With the foregoing in view, and other advantages as will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which this invention relates as this specification proceeds, the invention is herein described by reference to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, which includes a description of the best mode known to the applicant and of the preferred typical embodiment of the principles of the present invention, in which: